


(let her) Rest in Peace

by galaxy_of_words



Series: Janie's Got A Stake (a Buffy AU) [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire Slayer, Dirk please think this through, F/M, Gen, buffystuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-20 19:26:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11927640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxy_of_words/pseuds/galaxy_of_words
Summary: Jane Crocker is dead. The one girl chosen to save the world is no more. The vanquisher of the evil and the undead is deceased. The slayer is gone.Your name is Dirk Strider and your best friend is dead.





	(let her) Rest in Peace

Jane Crocker is dead. The one girl chosen to save the world is no more. The vanquisher of the evil and the undead is deceased. The slayer is gone.  
Your name is Dirk Strider and your best friend is dead.  


But it’s okay you have a plan. That’s what you do best of course, not that you aren’t one hell of a fighter but this is where you thrive. You plan and strategize in ways that would but famous generals to shame. You have plans for every situation and contingency plans for when things go wrong. Plans for even the most outlandish situations (if the next apocalypse involves horses you are ready). For some reasons your plans never accounted for Jane dying.  


She always seemed like a constant like the sun rising or the tides coming in but after all the things you’ve seen you know better. The sun can be blocked out and tides can be controlled and even the great Jane Crocker can fall.  
But it’s okay you can fix that. Fixing things is another thing you excel at. After Jane died you started thinking. You’ve seen a lot of things leaving in a hellmouth. Demons. Monsters. Magic.

You know that there are forces more powerful than even you could comprehend. Forces more powerful than the laws that govern the natural world. More powerful than death. The trick is finding them and figuring out how to use them.  


You’ve done so much research you’ve read through every old tome you could find and then found even more books to scour. You whispered into a mourning Roxy’s ear that there was a chance and she started helping. Jake was quick to follow. Searching the Internet and sorting stories and legends into piles of bullshit and possible. There is a lot more bullshit but there is still this glimmer. A chance, something a little like hope.  


Day after day you Roxy and Jake lock yourselves away in the library and pour over information. At night you go out and fight monsters and vampires you manage to hold your own but it’s exhausting. You aren’t sure how long you will be able to keep going like this but it’s okay. It’s temporary. You’re just holding down the fort until Jane comes back. And she will be back. You can feel it she’ll be back and any day now you’ll figure out the right way.  


**  


It’s a rough day. So many times you got so close only to discover it was another false lead. You are walking from the library to your apartment (your empty too big for one person apartment) when you feel a pair of eyes on you. You reach for the knife at your side and you’re faster than any other human you know but your attacker is faster and you find yourself against a wall with a familiar hand around your throat.  


Gamzee Makara looks like shit. He’s never really looked like a guy who would win beauty pageants but this is next level disheveled homeless look. His hair is greasy and unmanaged and the skin around his eyes is sallow. Somehow it even looks like he’s gotten thinner. He looks like the dead and if that isn’t just the sickest or ironies.  


His hand is around your neck but now that you know it’s him you aren’t afraid. His hand may be on your throat but there is no pressure. His grip is gentle and you both know it will stay that way, the chip in his head won’t allow anything different. He can’t hurt you.  
For the first time in a while it occurs to you that you could kill Gamzee right here. There is no love lost between the two of you. He’s a vampire so you would even be in the right. There is a small stake in your back pocket. If it came to a real fight you’d be pressed but with the chip as a factor you would come up on top.  
Gamzee Makara has been a thorn in your side since the first time you met him. Sure you may have worked together a time or two in order to save the world but he is no friend. He doesn’t matter to you.  


He matters to Jane though. You never understood their situation, never approved of their fucked up relationship. Honestly you wished she would just stake him but for some strange reason he made her happy. If you killed him now she’d be upset when she came back (and she will come back). So for Jane’s sake you put thoughts of killing the clown to rest and concentrate on the situation at hand, that being the delicate grip the clown has on your neck.  


“Gamzee” you greet in a perfect Strider monotone. “If ask why you’re here but I actually ran out of fresh fucks just this morning and don’t have any to spare of you” he doesn’t respond and his hand doesn’t move. He just stares at you his expression disturbingly blank.  


“Look is there a point to this meeting because I have a long list of people I’d rather be spending the evening with. A handsome man for one and-” he cuts you off.  


“I hear a brother has been messing around with things he shouldn’t be”  


You narrow your eyes from behind your shades. “Well tell whoever you heard that from that it’s none of their goddamn business and it sure as hell isn’t yours either.” You lock eyes with him. You’re a Strider and you sure as hell won’t be blinking first.  


“You don’t know what you’re messing with bro, leave well enough alone,” his voice isn’t threatening or commanding it’s just sad. Empty like he’s given up. It pisses you off.  


“First of all fuck off secondly fuck no I’m going to bring her back” you don’t understand why he’s so against it. If he cared about her wouldn’t he want her back? How can he give up if there is even the smallest chance? You are so sick of everyone moping when it’s just so clear that you can get her back. When you respond to Gamzee your anger shows.  


“ How the hell can you claim to care about her at all and just sit there doing nothing to bring her back”  


Gamzee surges forward, snarling his face twisted into something monstrous. His hand shakes but still his grip doesn’t tighten and despite yourself you feel the smallest hint of fear.  


“Don’t you DARE presume to know anything about me and mine. I loved that girl more than you can understand” his anger leaves as quickly as it came. Now he just looks sad and a little lost and you press on.  


“Then help us. We can bring Jane back” you can’t help the smallest bit of desperation sinking into your tone and if your bro could see you now he’d be rolling in his grave but you can’t help it. You aren’t sure if you’re pleading with Gamzee or god or fuck even just yourself.  


Your words must work because Gamzee's face is softer, wistful and tired with a hint of desperation. He wants her back as much as you do. Any second you expect him to give in. His face is accepting and sad and he has this horrible smile on his face that isn’t even the smallest bit happy.  


“Have you ever thought that she might not wanna come back? Sometimes brother believe me, it’s best just to let the dead stay dead.”  


Before you can even open your mouth to respond he’s gone, vanishing into the darkness his words lingering in your head.  


The very next day you a flipping through a book so old that the bindings are falling apart when you find your resurrection ceremony.  


***  


You enter your apartment and do not slam the door. You’re calm, you’re fine, you’re a Strider. You’re stoic and in control of your emotions and oops looks like you just threw a lamp at the wall. Well it was an ugly lamp anyway looked like the world’s tackiest grandmas all banded together to create one ugly ass lamp. Still that was one hell of a shatter the neighbors aren’t going to be happy.  


But that doesn’t matter they don’t matter fuck them nothing really matters.  


It didn’t work. It was supposed to work. Everything was right you double-checked and triple-checked and everything was perfect. It was supposed to work. It felt like it was working. But after all that research after checking it over and practicing drawing symbols until you could do it in your sleep. After twisting your tongue until you pronounced long dead ancient words as if they were your first language. After all the planning, all the sleepless nights it did nothing.  
It didn’t matter because Jane Crocker is still dead.  


It hurts. Somehow it hurts more than when it first happened. You knew this was possible. You calculated that chance of success was 90% but somehow you managed to make yourself forget the 10% chance of failure. It’s hurts more than you expected. More than it should.  


You miss her. You’ve been stopping yourself from missing her the past few months because all that mattered was getting her back. But it didn’t work and all the feelings you’ve been repressing hit you like a train.  


She’s gone. Fuck she’s gone. You are never going to hear her laugh again or tease her about letting out a frustrated curse. You’re never going to come home to fresh baked cookies or hell even hold her when she cries. She was your best friend.  


There is a voice in your head small and insistent telling you to try again. Striders don’t give up. You just need to work harder and you can figure it out and get her back.  


There is another voice in your head though saying this is for the best. That Jane should be allowed to Rest In Peace and you were selfish for trying to force her back. It sounds like an unholy abomination of Jake and Gamzee and you hate it. You hate both voices. You hate all the thoughts buzzing in your head. It’s all too much and for the first time in god knows how long you, Dirk strider, just want to sleep.  


**  


You wake up to loud knocks. It’s four am and honestly you have no desire to get up but the knocking won’t stop. With a groan you pull yourself to your feet.  


It’s probably Roxy looking for comfort and to be honest you aren’t ready to give that quite yet. But you also can’t turn her away.  


Your feet drag across the floor while the knocking doesn’t stop even as you start to open the door.  


“Jesus Roxy hold up for one fucking minut-”  


It’s not Roxy. Oh god it’s not Roxy.  


She’s covered in mud and blood the pretty blue dress you buried her in shredded. She’s not wearing her glasses, she was put to rest without them. Her hands are bloody and covered in splinters but her face. It’s her.  


Jane Crocker stands in front of you, shivering and filthy, but alive.  


You can’t stop yourself. You throw yourself around her hugging her smaller frame to your chest not caring about the mud or the blood. She’s shaking in your arms and it takes a full minute before she wraps her arms around you.  


She’s back holy shit she’s back.  


“Dirk what have you done” she whispers and a small part of you registers the hint of horror in her tone but you bury that part deep down.  


Because she’s back. Jane’s back and she’s alive and everything is going to be alright now. It’s going to be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh DIrk what have you done?
> 
> I think I'm gonna do a few oneshots for this universe. Please let me know if their are any spelling or grammar mistakes.


End file.
